Practical Law Glossary Item 6-568-2645 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Series A Financing Round
Typically refers to the first financing round of a startup company led by a venture capital (VC) fund or other professional institutional investor. Series A financings typically have most or all of these characteristics:
The company and the largest investor negotiate the terms of the financing and the pre-money valuation at arm's length.
The largest investor is an institutional VC fund or strategic corporate investor.
The largest investor conducts more legal, financial, commercial and technical due diligence than is typical in a seed financing round.
The parties use venture financing documents similar to the model documents published by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
The company raises at least $1,000,000, typically by issuing preferred equity securities convertible into common stock.
In most cases, a startup has already completed one or more seed rounds before conducting a Series A financing round.